A core value of Allied Bindery is to communicate on an on-going basis with our industry friends. Our objective is to share insight and observations considered valuable and helpful for our customers, helping them to provide an ever-increasing value proposition to their customers.
Effective Communication
Previous editions of this e-newsletter have discussed quality attribute information we solicit during the quote process in order to provide the highest quality and most cost efficient method of production for your project. By working together and spending a little more time in the planning stages of a project, this element of “effective communication” has repeatedly equated to superior value for our customers. At Allied, it is a process we take very seriously and one we are continually striving to improve upon.
In today’s increasingly Just in Time-Real Time world, we understand the critical role we play in successfully finishing our customers’ print projects within expected time frames, oftentimes “making up” time that was lost earlier in the project. This desired result is strongly facilitated when customers partner in the “effective communication” process. What does this mean? It means obtaining a mutual understanding about the following:
- Once you have made a decision to partner with Allied on a specific project, let us know as soon as possible. This allows us to incorporate this information into our production planning process.
- Confirm this intent with your purchase order, detailed job instructions, critical quality characteristic identification and delivery dates (even if they are subject to further change) as soon as possible. This facilitates our job evaluation process, often times serving to eliminate or minimize potential problems before they negatively impact project timing.
- Provide us with the timing of your production plans and an expected delivery date of printed material into our facility; continuously update us as soon as changes are known. This advances your job from production planning into our tentative job queue, helping to facilitate the quickest job turnaround time possible.
How does this benefit you, our customer? Invariably, it positions Allied as a partner in an integrated supply chain, resulting in project success. For customers participating effectively with us in this process, it means job turn around time in hours and days as opposed to weeks.
Roll fold designs are often used for advertising pieces and are meant to catch the eye of the consumer with the unique product design. There are several items to consider when planning for a roll fold product to ensure accurate registration and crisp folding results.
A good guideline to follow when planning for roll folds, is to realize that the outer two panels of the product should be the same size as the final required size of the piece, while the interior panels should be successively smaller in width by 3/32”, ending with the innermost panel 1/16” smaller in width that the panel immediately preceding it. This guideline will vary somewhat based upon the paper stock being used, with heavier basis weight stocks requiring slightly larger panel size reductions. If panel size decisions are not carefully planned, the end product may display wrap around registration issues and/or push-out problems.
Scoring of the panels is also a critical element toward achieving a crisp and registered folding result, particularly on basis weight stocks heavier than 80 lb. If a project requires scoring, verify the width of your folder, or your trade bindery’s folder, in comparison to the length of the sheet to be scored. If the material to be scored is longer (wider) than the folders capability, the printer must plan for die scoring of the flat press sheets. Failure to incorporate scores on heavier basis weight stocks can result in cracking and fold variation or skew in the final product.
Involving the Sales and Planning Professionals at Allied Bindery can help you with planning requirements for roll fold projects. Review of project trim size, number of panels, paper basis weight and design will result in a superior end product for your customer.
Incorporating a pocket folder as the cover for your perfect bound project adds a visual pizzazz that can impress your customer. Keep in mind that there are several key planning steps that must be considered to ensure that the pocket folder cover design is successful.
A pocket folder cover project must be designed and prepared to allow for pre-binding of the text block, prior to inclusion of the cover. The purpose of a pre-bind of the text is to allow the face and foot edge of the book block to be trimmed smooth prior to being aligned with the face and foot edge of the pocket folder.
Once the book block has been pre-trimmed at the face and foot edge, the book block can be combined with the pocket folder cover, using the foot edge as the primary collating guide. The Binder Operator will then adjust the amount of spine grind to allow the face edge of the book to align with the face edge of the pocket folder. Once the book block is glued into the pocket folder cover, a head trim is performed, resulting in text that is nearly perfectly fitted to the pocket folder cover.
Remember, the face and foot edge of the pocket folder cannot be trimmed without destroying the pocket. Fitting of the text to the pocket folder cover during two binding passes, as described, leaves the pocket folder intact, providing smoothly trimmed text and a pleasing product to your customer.
Involving the Sales and Planning Professionals at Allied Bindery will help you avoid problems during the planning and design stages for pocket folder covers. Give us a call and let us help you achieve your customer’s expectations
A core value of Allied Bindery is to communicate on an on-going basis with our industry friends. Our objective is to share insight and observations considered valuable and helpful for our customers, helping you to provide an ever-increasing value proposition to your customers.
Allied Bindery is a premier trade bindery located inMadison Heights,Michigan, celebrating 20+ years of servicing your bindery requirements.
Have you ever printed and saddle stitched a brochure that was to become part of a master binder? You need to have the brochure three-hole drilled to allow it to be added to a ring or post binder, only to discover that you did not plan correctly for the drill holes to avoid important text such as part numbers or pricing. Now what? Reprint? Or, hope that your customer doesn’t complain? There is a better way!
The incorporation of a loop stitch design into a saddle stitch product effectively expands the functionality of a saddle stitch catalog, parts list, price list or marketing brochure. A loop stitched product may be used as a free standing piece, however, the true concept of the loop design is to allow the finished piece to be incorporated into a ring or post binder. The use of loop stitches allows the booklet to be added to a master binder without the requirement of drilling any holes, thus eliminating any potential for drilling through the text.
The creation of a loop stitch requires a specialized stitching head. A standard loop stitch head will create a six millimeter loop (approximately ¼” wide). An eight millimeter loop stitch head can also be purchased. Generally, a six millimeter loop is used when the finished piece will be included in a ring binder. The eight millimeter loop option is primarily used when the finished piece will be included in a post binder.
When considering or planning for a loop stitch project, it is important to realize that book thickness must not exceed ¼”. This is the maximum book thickness that can be accommodated and still allow for a tight closure of the stitch “legs” onto the spine. Attempting to produce a book thicker than ¼” will result in the “legs” of the stitches closing further apart, resulting in less wire actually holding the pages together in the book and generating a high risk potential that pages will come loose from the spine.
It is important for the printer to communicate the required dimension from the head of the book to the placement of the first loop stitch. When the finished loop stitch piece is included in a master binder with other products, this specific dimension requirement must be achieved in order that the finished piece aligns with other pieces in the master binder.
Your customer has just requested a perfect bound book with enhanced capabilities to lie flat when opened. You check your list of trade bindery service providers and see that some of them promote the ability to produce Layflat Binding (or Stayflat or Otabind). Problem solved, right?
Not necessarily. There are several critical planning steps that must be considered during the design and prepress stages of the project that ultimately determine the cosmetic and functional success or failure of the book.
A successful Layflat binding style is accomplished by building the book so that the spine of the book block is not attached to the spine of the book cover as with a standard perfect bound product. The Layflat book block must first be adhered to a fabric liner rather than a book cover. The bound book block will then be attached to the cover between a pair of hinge scores specifically placed on the front and back cover. This design allows the spine of the book cover to separate from the book block when the book is opened, allowing the spine of the book block to float above the book cover. This design reduces resistance and allows for an enhanced Layflat characteristic when the book is opened.
In order to build a successful Layflat product, design and prepress planning must incorporate specific requirements for hinge scores, graphics and text placement on the covers and interior text pages. Design requirements must also provide consideration for cross alignments, page borders, and if necessary, drill hole placement. Failure to plan for these critical characteristics will result in an unhappy customer.
The Sales and Planning Professionals at Allied Bindery are prepared to assist you with the critical planning requirements for Layflat Binding. Give us a call at 248-588-5990 and let us show you how we can help ensure a successful project for you.
Roll fold designs are often used for advertising pieces and are meant to catch the eye of the consumer with the unique product design. There are several items to consider when planning for a roll fold product to ensure accurate registration and crisp folding results.
A good guideline to follow when planning for roll folds, is to realize that the outer two panels of the product should be the same size as the final required size of the piece, while the interior panels should be successively smaller in width by 3/32”, ending with the innermost panel 1/16” smaller in width that the panel immediately preceding it. This guideline will vary somewhat based upon the paper stock being used, with heavier basis weight stocks requiring slightly larger panel size reductions. If panel size decisions are not carefully planned, the end product may display wrap around registration issues and/or push-out problems.
Scoring of the panels is also a critical element toward achieving a crisp and registered folding result, particularly on basis weight stocks heavier than 80 lb. If a project requires scoring, verify the width of your folder, or your trade bindery’s folder, in comparison to the length of the sheet to be scored. If the material to be scored is longer (wider) than the folders capability, the printer must plan for die scoring of the flat press sheets. Failure to incorporate scores on heavier basis weight stocks can result in cracking and fold variation or skew in the final product.
Involving the Sales and Planning Professionals at Allied Bindery can help you with planning requirements for roll fold projects. Review of project trim size, number of panels, paper basis weight and design will result in a superior end product for your customer.
Planning Tips for Die Cut Covers
A common approach to jazzing up the cover for your perfect bound, saddle stitch or mechanically bound project is to utilize a die cut cover. Designs may include die cut windows or even specifically die cut words. There are a number of things to remember when planning for the use of a die cut cover.
Don’t forget the spine grind allowance! Often, a die cut cover on a perfect bound book is meant to align with text or graphics on the first page of the book. If the designer forgets to accommodate a spine grind off margin on the text, the die cut shape or window will not align as desired. Forgetting to accommodate the spine grind margin can throw off the alignment between cover and text by at least 1/8”.
Don’t forget to incorporate a “choke or spread”. If the desire of the designer is to have the die cut window fully cover a graphic design on the first page of text, the graphic design must be planned larger than the die cut window. Since each production process will contain some level of register variation, the die cut window needs to be smaller than the design that it is meant to cover. If the window and the graphic are designed at the same size, a register variation as small as 1/64” will result in a visually displeasing effect.
Conversely, if the designer wants the die cut window to frame a graphic or word, the die cut window must be larger than the item that it is meant to frame. This will allow for some minor process variation, without creating a visually displeasing effect.
Be careful with the choice of die cut shapes when designing the cover. Long die cut slits or narrow die cut channels in a cover are a recipe for getting caught up in equipment and destroying the cover. Solicit the input of your trade bindery representative to help identify ways to make your project design successful.
Involving the Sales and Planning Professionals at Allied Bindery can help you avoid potential problems with the design of a die cut cover.
Tell a Perfect Binder Operator that he needs to bind a project containing two page forms or synthetic flysheets and he is likely to run for the hills, babbling incoherently. If your perfect binding project design requires the use of either two page forms or synthetic fly sheets, here are a few tips to help the project go smoothly, while allowing Perfect Binder Operators to maintain their sanity.
A two page form of any material is less stable and more difficult to feed and collate, on nearly any stock weight. Stock type and basis weight can exacerbate this challenge. A 50# basis weight text is the minimum that should be considered when a two page form must be planned when using offset or coated stocks. Below a 50# basis weight, the mechanical calipers on the collator, designed to detect a mis-feed or double feed, simply will not work. Mechanical calipers are not sensitive enough to detect a form this thin. Two page forms on stock weights less than 50# basis weight could be missed during the feeding process and not discovered. This results in missing pages in the final product. If you must include a two page form(s) in your perfect bound project, consider increasing the basis weight of the stock to at least 60#. The additional paper cost will go a long way toward avoiding the production of a book with missing pages. An alternative planning option is to combine the two page form with other signature page count options. For example, combine the two-page and a four page into a six page signature. Or, redesign a two page and an eight page form to create six page and four page signatures. Allied Bindery can help you get creative in your planning approach, while helping to minimize potential production and quality problems.
Synthetic stocks, often used for flysheets, create additional challenges. A basis weight of 30# will not only be too thin to detect through the pocket feeder calipers, but the stock itself will have a tendency to curl into a cylinder shape. The curling of thin, synthetic stock generally takes place immediately after the flat cutting process. Curled stock simply will not feed through a collator pocket. The curling sequence can take place so rapidly that the synthetic sheet will often curl between the collator pocket and the binder. When this phenomenon occurs, the sheet will likely be bound crookedly into the spine of the book. Allied Bindery recommends synthetic stocks with a minimum basis weight of 32# to minimize the potential for curling.
Printing designs often require a critical cross alignment, also referred to as a cross over, between pages. There are a number of planning tips that will help the designer and printer to achieve the desired end result.
Folding:
The best folding layout to insure accurate cross alignment is a parallel or double parallel fold. This signature design requires folding only along the spine of the signature, helping to insure the desired cross over between pages. If a quarter fold design is used, the flat text sheet must be folded in two directions (head to foot and spine to face), generating an increased opportunity for register variance. A quarter-fold design creates registration creep in two directions, while a parallel or double parallel fold creates creep in only one direction.
Adhesive Binding:
In order to achieve the desired cross alignment between text pages in an adhesive bound book, the designer or printer must take into account that the spine side of the page will receive a 1/8” grind off. The grind off is done in order to expose fiber in all the pages of a folded signature to the adhesive. Failure to incorporate a 1/8” spine grind off into the page layout will result in cross alignments that will be misaligned as much as ¼”. Ask your Allied Representative for assistance with any cross alignment questions you may have.
In order to achieve the desired cross alignment between the inside front cover and the first text page of the book, or the inside back cover and last text page of the book, the designer or printer must keep in mind that the text pages will have the 1/8” grind off and the inside covers will have ¼” side glue hinge. Failure to incorporate each of these dimensions into the planning process will result in cross alignment that is off as much as 3/8” from the anticipated result.
Allied Bindery : Quality Creates Confidence
March 2012
While binding is only 10 to 15 percent of the cost to manufacture a book, its value is immeasurable. Allied Bindery, of Madison Heights, MI, has always endeavored to make receiving that full value effortless for its customers. Allied’s primary goal is to produce a high-quality book, and a close second is to allow for flexibility. Being an early embracer of hot melt polyurethane (PUR) adhesive for spine gluing has helped it achieve both.
A trade binder in business since 1989, about a decade ago Allied noted an increased variety of paper stock coming in from printers. While traditional ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) adhesives were capable of handling many stocks, Allied recognized that PUR adhesives could accommodate virtually any stock. Combining that adaptability with PUR’s tolerance for extreme temperatures and excellent layflat properties, the shop decided to make it the standard on one of its two Kolbus binders.
The Kolbus KM470 binder came with a wheel pot applicator. The wheel pot was adequate for PUR adhesive application, but the open system resulted in daily residual adhesive waste, as well as extensive maintenance. In addition to labor-intensive, daily startup and shutdown processes, wheel pots require regular maintenance and refurbishing to stay in good working order. And, the open wheels were susceptible to contamination and foaming of the PUR, both of which negatively impact adhesive binding properties. Additionally, application control isn’t very precise, requiring over application of adhesive to ensure minimum coverage.
After some thorough research, Allied realized it could improve production efficiency and reduce waste and maintenance by using an extrusion application system. Working with Henkel, their adhesive supplier, Allied identified the Nordson BetterBook solution to meet the need for a closed extrusion system. The Better- Book solution incorporates a Nordson bulk melter and hose with its EP48V slot applicator to protect the adhesive from air/moisture exposure, while providing maximum application control.
“Some customers were initially concerned that PUR use would significantly increase the cost of the bookbinding process,” says Ed Doyle, managing director of Allied Bindery. “But, while PURs are more expensive than EVAs, use of the PUR extrusion application solution allows a 50 percent reduction in the volume of adhesive needed for proper bonding. And, the low-maintenance system also helps to reduce some labor overhead costs. The net result of PUR use is less than pennies per piece for a longer-lasting, finished book.”
Since Nordson’s is a closed system, the adhesive is protected from premature curing that starts as soon as the moisture in air reaches the adhesive. This means optimum bonding properties are retained by the PUR adhesive and eliminates the adhesive waste of having to dispose of exposed, prematurely-cured adhesive daily. And as the EP48V applicator uses slot and sniffback technology to limit exposure to air, adhesive system shutdown and startup are reduced to a matter of minutes rather than up to an hour for each process.
A Leader of the Pack
Always striving to be a leader rather than a follower, Allied was the first trade bindery to introduce PUR in the Upper Midwest and the first bindery in North America to implement extrusion application technology.
Perhaps the biggest challenge for Allied has been educating its customers. PURs do not support the main critical in-process test of bookbinders—the page pull test. While PURs develop the initial strength to be trimmed and shipped immediately, the traditional page pull test can not accurately be performed for approximately 24 hours. So, Allied has in place numerous quality checks, both automated and manual, visual and mechanical, to confirm spine glue application consistency in real time.
“You need to partner with your customers and your customers’ clients at the beginning of a project so that everybody understands the desired outcome and what is needed to achieve it,” says Doyle. “Part of this is project-specific education, but we also proactively send bi-weekly technical tips to keep customers up-to-date on process and material trends.”
Allied also became ISO 9001 certified to ensure a continuous commitment to structured, successful processes. It employees understand exactly what is important to the binding of every book, and the potential results if these exacting standards are not consistently met.
Currently, the ability to accommodate the increasingly short runs and finicky raw materials has Allied expanding into the world of digital print finishing. This is the next logical step for the establishment to continue to be a full-service bindery that’s partnering with its customers. PI
http://www.piworld.com/article/allied-bindery-uses-nordson-system-pur-adhesive-spine-glue-books-418714/1
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